Hoy pasamos el día super bien! The Spanish Club had its second official excursion, and it was an incredible experience. A while ago, I found the website TuBoston.com, which lists fantastic events all across Boston. By means of this website, I encountered the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, a Latin American culture center in the heart of Boston. They host Hispanic shows, concerts, dances, and galleries. This is where the Spanish Club went for the day, to see the Latin American Classical Composer's series and a gallery of Agustín Patiño's work. I was so happy that not only did I persevere in the planning of this trip, but all of the members of the Spanish Club were very committed and the excursion was successfully realized.
Miranda, Ms. Kirk and I arrived early to the Villa Victoria and decided to get food and then look at the Agustín Patiño gallery. It was a fantastic manifestation of Latin culture through art. His paintings expressed the Latin people, depicting cities and families and the inner turmoil of his mind. They were incredible insights specifically of Ecuadorian culture, seeing as that is the heritage of Agustín Patiño. The paintings really seemed to debate reality vs. the surreal in the life of a Latin American man. They were of incredible detail and precision, and showed to me the importance of art as a means of understanding between two different cultures.
After seeing the art, we went on to listen to the concert. There were around 12 pieces performed on the guitar. These pieces were all composed by Latin Americans, and just like the art, the music was a great manifestation of Latin culture. The pieces varied, as the composers were of different nationalities. The tempo and the key changed constantly, creating pieces that were somber, curious, or made you want to dance. There was even a piece that sounded like a Wendy Sulca song, and I almost expected to see her come out in her traditional dress and hear her sing in her banshee voice.
It was a really great experience and it made me realize the value of culture for everyone around the world. To see this center in Boston, proudly displaying the Latin American heritage of the neighborhood, it made me sad that I really had no culture to embrace. It gave me hope as well, because I love the Spanish language and the Latin American culture so passionately, and so if a community could embody it so powerfully as demonstrated in Villa Victoria, then so can I.
I was sad to leave this great venue, but the ride home did give the Spanish Club time to talk about future plans. We would love to begin meeting once every two weeks or so, but perhaps that will have to wait for next year. We also considered other events, like attending the Ecuadorian Night at Villa Victoria on May 14th. It would be great if we could host our own show or cultural day at Sturgis - perhaps a Cinco de Mayo celebration?
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